Tag: Law

Law touches every aspect of our social life, from cradle to the grave. It governs almost everything from conception to exhumation. There are legal frameworks from the air we breathe, food we eat, our health, family relationship, property, science, sports, travel, employment and even war. Studying law sharpens your mind, strengthen your understanding and deepen your experience across full range of social sciences and humanities. You develop abstract thinking and practical problem solving when you study law.

Completion of secondary education is the basic requirement for studying law in Australia. Each law school website will tell you the requirements for you to be able to apply for admission. To be professional lawyer in Australia, you need to complete an approved law degree (Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctor) and complete practical legal training course to obtain Legal Practice Legal Diploma. A supervised traineeship at a firm will also enable you to have practice legal training. After the training you need to apply for admission to the roll of lawyers, and then apply for a practicing certificate.

A career in law is rewarding and can take you anywhere you want to go. A law degree can lead you to an exciting career as a solicitor or a barrister, but a legal qualification can also open opportunities in any industry sector such as banking, finance, business management, politics and government. Legal skills acquired from studying law are valuable for any career requiring practical approach and intellectual strength.

Being a lawyer in the 21st century no longer just means defending little people against big corporations, or defending big corporations against the social media clout of little people. It can also mean developing a keen sense of social trends and being able to act fast on legal opportunities such as class actions. A case in point is the initiative shown by Charles Bannister of Bannister Law in bringing about the VW class action against Volkswagen, using not just radio, TV and newspapers to rally disgruntled Volkswagen owners but also the digital focus point of a website and social media. Should students be trained to be better prepared for social changes, world events and shifts in public opinion which can open up entrepreneurial chasms waiting to be filled by fast-acting lawyers?

Law schools today are using technology in their classrooms to prepare their students for the practice of law in today’s digital business world. Web-based tools are used to create a more engaging learning experience for the students. Effective use of social media particularly blogging is being taught in universities and online campuses to prepare students to better compete in the marketplace. Social media skills are important skill set in today’s economy. It’s an easier way for potential clients to find your practice. It’s also valuable tool for social listening and monitoring. Social media listening help law firms navigate public sentiment and identify unusual spikes in social media before an activity become mainstream stories. Broad social media listening is useful for class action car accident compensation lawsuits like in the case of VW class action. Staying informed will help you quickly locate public opinion, spot legal opportunities and strategize your actions.

Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are helping lawyers with social searches and litigation. The internet allows lawyers to gather bulk of information about prospective jurors and track their activities on social media. Trial lawyers are now using it to understand and manage public perceptions and opinions of a case. Individual profiles, forums and comments help lawyers find trial evidence. Social media law and risk management in a range of global social and political contexts is now being offered in different universities as a new postgraduate level course. This course enables students to have advance knowledge and skills in the use of social media for government, non-government organisations, business and general public.